That's just the way Canada works.
Every province pays the government of Canada tax constributions, and then we all (provinces), beg for it back. Be it Education , Healthcare, or Infrastucture.

I'm not even sure why that article was written as it was.
It reports healthcare went up by 5.5%, but actually a 6% increase was given each year by the feds, until 2013.

See what happens in 2013, I guess. But, surely more money from the feds is on it's way, just the amount is yet, unknown.
So, these little "threats" from provinces from time to time, reminds the feds to keep money aside for them.

I don't see our healthcare system getting worse, then any other country. Just our high dollar now, alone, makes imported medical equipment (from Germany, USA, Japan), much cheaper.
Also keeps our Doctors and Nurses, from moving to the US, since the payrate is no longer as lukrative.

Besides, just this Monday, we had a first quarter GDP increase of 6.1%. Largest single quarterly increase in over a decade.
Bank of Canada had to react and raised interest rates yesterday.

All that means, is more income for the provinces, and the federal income. Certainly money there, to fund any short commings in the future.

Canada's "single payer" national health insurance program promises all residents reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services without co-payments or direct charges at the point of service.

* The program, often referred to as "medicare," comprises 13 provincial and territorial health insurance plans, all of which share certain common standards of coverage, governed by the 1984 Canada Health Act.

* Provinces and territories must comply with the Canada Health Act to receive federal transfer payments.

* The federal government has also since agreed to additional transfers for initiatives such as reducing wait times, HPV (human papillomavirus) immunization and electronic health records.

* Healthcare costs are mostly paid from income taxes, although some provinces also impose premiums that may be waived or reduced for low-income residents.

* An estimated 70 percent of healthcare expenditures is covered by public funding and 30 percent is paid for privately. Private payments include those for prescription drugs (including topping up public coverage for the elderly), dental, vision care and other services.

* Healthcare spending in Canada was expected to reach C$183.1 billion in 2009, an estimated increase or 5.5 percent since 2008, according to the Canadian Institute of Health Information.

* In 2000, the World Health Organization ranked Canada No. 30 out of 191 member countries in overall health system efficiency and performance. The United States ranked 37, while France topped the rankings.

* A 2009 poll by Nanos Research found 86 percent of Canadians surveyed supported or strongly supported "public solutions to make our public healthcare stronger".

British Columbia is replacing block grants to hospitals with fee-for-procedure payments and Quebec has a new flat health tax and a proposal for payments on each medical visit -- an idea that critics say is an illegal user fee.
And a few provinces are also experimenting with private funding for procedures such as hip, knee and cataract surgery.
"We can't continually see health spending growing above and beyond the growth rate in the economy because, at some point, it means crowding out of all the other government services.
"At some stage we're going to hit a breaking point."

OTTAWA - The Canadian economy keeps beating expectations and most of the industrialized world in its ability to create jobs.

But market reaction was muted at best Friday as U.S. jobs numbers were dismal and a new wrinkle in the European sovereign debt crisis cast a cloud over global growth, calling into question just how far ahead of its peers Canada's economy can remain.

The Canadian economy seems very far ahead of its peers now — particularly in the repairing of its labour market — with Friday's report that 24,700 new jobs were added in May and an astounding 67,300 full-time jobs, most of them from employers and in the private sector.